2016 Top 10 StickyMinds Articles

As 2016 draws to a close, we at TechWell took a look back at the topics that most interested our StickyMinds readers. We hope you enjoy this curated list of top-ranking articles and interviews covering everything in the software testing industry from Selenium and test automation to API testing, kanban, and the future of the software testing profession.

There is no doubt the tester role will continue to evolve in 2017, and you’ll need to adapt your skills accordingly. To help you along your journey, we’ve gathered 2016’s most popular StickyMinds articles and interviews to help you start the new year with fresh ideas and inspiration.

Many people wonder what it means that Selenium is open source, and further, what the community element of that paradigm brings to the table. This article addresses some of the common misconceptions about that situation, as well as details some of the benefits of the community behind a product like Selenium. By Brian Van Stone[Read the article]

Mind maps work well for planning the test strategy and monitoring project status. Mind-mapping software makes all this easy, and the visual presentation keeps everyone in the loop. Ritinder Kaur shows how mind maps can communicate ideas clearly and help you execute them exactly to create a comprehensive test plan. By Ritinder Kaur[Read the article]

When it comes to testing, there are so many areas that it's difficult to feel sure you covered everything. It can be helpful to use a mnemonic or other memory aid to remind you of your main points to hit. Terry Wiegmann recommends adding the acronym NEBS—for Normal, Error, Boundary, and Special test conditions—to your toolkit. By Terry Wiegmann[Read the article]

More and more, testers are being added to programming teams. We testers think that's great, and we're happy to be here. But we also have some concerns based on our interactions with development teams in the past. To make the transition easier, here's a letter pointing out some things you should know when managing testers on your development team. By Marcus Blankenship[Read the article]

Great testers are hard to find, so if you work with some, you want to keep them! As with any long-lasting relationship, sustaining it requires continuous effort, but it's very rewarding. Here’s how coworkers, clients, and managers can show testers some love this Valentine’s Day—and maybe be loved in return, too. By Sofía Palamarchuk[Read the article]

Traditionally, automated scripts are derived from existing test cases. But if we divorce the notion of “automation” from the notions of “test cases” and “test scripts,” we can think of automation as a judicious use of technology to help humans do their jobs. This broadens our world to include different tools that can help testers increase coverage, test faster, and detect trends. By Paul Grizzaffi[Read the article]

Even if you're currently only using manual testing, it's still important to know about what's going on in the world of automation. Whatever your role is, your day-to-day job will probably be enhanced by using at least some of the approaches in this article. Here, learn what some common terms mean and some examples of how they might be used in a software development shop. By Josh Grant[Read the article]

Management loves to ask testers to estimate how long their efforts will take. But so many important aspects elude measurement that testing time is difficult to predict. Here are some of the major factors that significantly influence our ability to estimate testing time well, along with some advice on how you can tighten up your efforts. By Lee Copeland, Matthew Heusser[Read the article]

Kanban, a highly effective agile framework, is based on the philosophy that everything can be improved. And it's not just for development teams. The QA team also can use kanban to organize tasks, identify bottlenecks, and make their processes clearer and more consistent. By Sofía Palamarchuk[Read the article]

It’s the distinctions between agile and traditional software development approaches, as well as the adaptability of testers in these very different environments, that makes agile testing different from traditional testing. Agile demands more from its testers, and, in turn, it values them more, too. Let’s look at five main things that make an agile tester’s life different from that of a traditional tester. By Nishi Grover Garg[Read the article]

About the author

After fourteen years of helping software professionals find their writer's voice, Heather is still excited to discover new talent and she relishes the opportunity to work with industry experts, practitioners, and craftspeople.